How is the Program Delivered?

The Doctor of Education in P-20 and Community Leadership program is designed for working
professionals and has been intentionally designed with a cohort approach to learning.
Program faculty will assist each cohort to develop into an effective and productive
learning community wherein students challenge and support one another. We believe
that a cohort approach for adult learners fosters a spirit of camaraderie and leads
to a higher completion rate as compared to other approaches to doctoral studies.

In addition, the composition of the cohort represents a variety of specialized interests
including pK-12 education, higher education, STEM leadership and community leadership.
Such diverse professional networks are valuable for career development, professional
growth and support, as well as future collaborative projects and initiatives across
sites, districts, or institutions of higher education.

The executive-style delivery of blended (weekend and web-enhanced) courses speaks
to the needs of leaders surveyed in our service region. The cohort will meet, in person,
four weekends per semester with the remainder of the coursework being completed via
an online/distance media. There is also a one week residency on campus during the
first summer semester.

Academic Advising

Once admitted to the Ed.D. program, our students are assigned an advisor from among
the faculty in the Ed.D. program. The advisor's role is to support the student through
the various program benchmarks and to assist the student in the further clarification
of research interests.

The role and function of the academic advisor includes:

Consulting with the student on an ongoing basis. Advising can be completed in person,
by phone, e-mail, or other interactive options.